Book News Roundup: Roxane Gay To Pen Black Panther Companion Series

Roxane Gay, the well-known speaker and writer of Bad Feminist, has signed on to pen a companion series to the new Black Panther comic run (written by contemporary literary juggernaut Ta-Nehisi Coates). World of Wakanda follows the characters Ayo and Aneka, former members of the Black Panther’s female security force, the Dora Milaje.

In other book news:

Stephenie Meyer, of Twilight fame, has written a new thriller story for adult readers titled The Chemist, due out this November. The novel, set in the U.S., follows an ex-government agent of a secretive group who is brought back into the field to face a new threat. All very vague so far, but there are hints that this thriller may weave some supernatural elements in too, in keeping with Meyer’s former success in genre fiction.

A survey has found that Harry Potter truly is the solution to many of Western society’s ills. A study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania discovered that the more likely you are to be a Harry Potter fan, the less likely you are to support Donald Trump. Since the book series encourages tolerance, respect for others and highlights the terror of fascism, this study seems entirely unsurprising. So take note readers, the more people are exposed to Harry Potter and J K Rowling’s wizarding world, the better.

The feature film director debut of actress Kirsten Dunst has been announced: she will direct a film version of Sylvia Plath’s seminal novel The Bell Jar (1963), and it will star Dakota Fanning in the lead role of Esther Greenwood, the young college student who heads to New York City after winning an elite summer internship at a magazine.

Another fantasy story based on a beloved book series is coming to television screens. Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber will be adapted by Robert Kirkman – no more information has come to light as yet, but the news itself is exciting for fans of the ten-novel epic series.

Following the wake of the Brexit vote, and the various political twists and turns to have occurred in the weeks since the referendum, plans to release Boris Johnson’s Shakespeare biography have now been scrapped. It was meant to be released this October (to coincide with 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death), but considering Johnson now has his plate full with duties as Foreign Secretary, he has admitted he no longer has the time spare to write it.

Finally, the film adaptation of Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch will be directed by John Crowley, who helmed the recent awards darling Brooklyn.